STORIES

PATIENT STORIES

The long-term and short-term relationships formed between the volunteers and patients on the brigades are, in many ways, the foundation of the CSB program. Below are just a few of the highlights from recent brigades.

Carmencita (Guatemala City, Guatemala)*

RECONNECTING: I met [Carmencita] last February. So I was standing over there [yesterday] and the girl comes running over to me and hugs my leg. I said, "I know you! I know you!" And she was so happy, "Yeah, yeah!" Then she asks, "What's my name?" I responded, "Oh, I remember you're name, I remember. Don't tell me!" She told me anyways, "Carmencita! Carmencita!" Her mom was behind me, so I asked her mother how she was doing.

"THEY LOVE ME": Her mother responded, "I didn't want to come today, because I was really tired, but [Carmencita] made me come. I was feeling sick, very depressed, but Carmencita woke me up, she said, 'Get up. My friends are coming, and I want to see them.' Carmencita loves you guys, she loves you so much. She loves you so much that she got up early and went to the store to buy me Tylenol. She said to me, 'Take it and feel better because we need to go to the brigade. They are here.'

"Carmencita doesn't know when the brigades come exactly, but somehow, she's figured it out. A few weeks before they come, she starts talking about it all the time. She asks over and over, 'When will they be here?' Yesterday, Carmencita got up at 5 in the morning and said, 'Mommy, they are coming, my friends are coming today. Mommy, we must go.' I tried to tell her it was too early, it was 5 in the morning, but she said, 'No, no, no, they'll be there, and I want to be the first one in line.' So she told her older sister to make coffee for me and she went to the store to get bread. We were the first ones in line. This little girl made me get here at 7 in the morning. Carmencita said, 'They love me, mommy. I have to go see my friends.'"

That's why I always come back, there's always someone waiting for us.

*As told by Dora Orellana, Boston, MA

Alla, 15 (Monte Verde, Honduras)

15-year old Alla raises and cares for her 6 brothers and sisters six days a week while her parents work in a different village. She hopes to become a lawyer, although she can currently only attend school for half days due to her caretaking responsibilities.

ABOUT ALLA: Alla is fifteen years old, but she has the weary expression of someone much older. When I first met her, she was holding a heavy baby with fidgeting hands in her arms. She had dark circles under her eyes and the hunched posture of somebody very tired.

ALLA'S FAMILY: As I spoke with her, I learned that her parents, Carmen and Ronaldo, work in Choloma, Cortes, Honduras, about thirty minutes away by car directly and over a forty-five minute bus ride from Monte Verde. They leave for work early in the morning and return late at night, remaining at home only on Sundays. Her mother makes tortillas in a factory and her father installs air conditioners. She had six brothers and sisters, all of which are younger, and has been caring for their needs in a parental role since she was eight years old. Her home has four rooms, and nine occupants.

LIFE IN MONTE VERDE: Our whole conversation, Alla holds her brother, never acknowledging his gestures as he pulls her hair and sticks his hands in her mouth. I ask her, what do you do in your free time? “I never have free time.” No, I mean what do you do for fun? “In the whole week, I never have fun.” She is not whining or complaining. She is stating fact, with the same honest, down trodden expression that she has demonstrated since our first introduction. ﻿“It’s really dangerous here,” she explains do me. “They kill people. Even though they don’t have anything. They still kill them.”﻿She cannot, or at least, does not, tell me who “they” are. They are her neighbors, they are strangers, they can be anybody it seems.

HER DREAM: Alla wants to be a lawyer. She wants to move to the United States because it is beautiful there. She wants to go to a university. But for now, she can only go to school for half days, starting at noon because she has to work and take care of her younger siblings in the morning. Her favorite activity during the week is church, on Sundays.

THE BRIGADE: My translator and I asked Alla if we could pray with her, and she agreed. So we stood there on the dirty concrete, in front of the bathroom entrances, holding hands and praying to God for strength, hope, and peace. We took Alla into the classroom next door, and while I held her brother, some of the teen girls painted hearts on her cheek and gave her a pink tote bag with palm tree designs on the side, filled with a stick of deodorant, some pencils, and a few other supplies. It wasn't much, but for the first time all day, she was smiling.

Maria, 66 (Chamelecon, Honduras)

Since her husband's recent tragic death, Maria has suffered with depression and insomnia, in addition to her severe stomach pains. All of her five children have battled painful illnesses in their hearts & brains.

ABOUT MARIA: Maria is gentle. She wears a black and purple button-down dress with a floral pattern. Her skin is thin and wrinkled, like wrapping paper. She speaks softly, and my translator has to lean in close and occasionally ask her to repeat herself in order to catch every word. She lives close to the site of the brigade, a five minute bus ride.

CSB EXPERIENCE: This is her second experience coming to the brigades, she is here with two of her five children who are sick with viruses. "They are with the dentist right now," she informs me in her compassionate manner. Maria has five children, all of whom have battled a painful illness, ranging from problems with their hearts, to brains, and even depression. Less than a year ago, her husband, Victor, died of a brain injury, although she cannot provide me with any more specific information. "I have been feeling very sick, and very sad." Since his death, Maria has struggled greatly with depression, a condition she describes as debilitating. "I am always sad. I am so sad," she says quietly, but without complaint. "I wish for peace in my heart, because I know God is wih me, but sometimes, I have doubts. I wish I were more confident in my faith, I wish I had peace." In addition, Maria has suffered with a stomach illnesss since her youth. "My stomach hurts, all of the time. I can't sleep anymore. Too much pain." Last time she received treatment at a brigade, she received medication for her stomach problem, medication, she claims, greatly helped for a period of time, until the prescription ran out.

CSB HIGHLIGHT: Nine years ago, someone sold her daughter nail polish remover, except, it wasn't nail polish remover. When her daughter put the substance on her nails, all of her nails fell off. For eight years, her daughter did not have any nails. Last year when her daughter came to the brigade, one of the doctors gave her a substance to put on her fingers. Now, a year later, her daughter has nails again. "They are very pretty. I am really glad for her."

After I am out of questions, I ask Maria is she would like to pray, since she spoke openly about her faith and her love for God. She immediately agrees. My translator prays out loud in Spanish as the three of us clasp hands. I open my eyes some as we pray and I see that Maria is crying, and the tears roll down her cheeks, but she does not let go of us to wipe them away. After the prayer is finished, she touches my cheek with my hand and speaks to me adamantly and sincerely. Although I cannot understand her, I nod and smile, and tell her thank you. As we walk away, I ask my translator what she said. "She says thank you to us, for listening, for coming. She says to always look for God and keep carrying on."

Dulce, San Pedro Sula Church of Christ Women's Ministry Leader

"Because of the brigades, the brothers and sisters in Honduras do not feel like they are this little abandoned church in the lost world. They have more faith that we belong to something big."

ABOUT DULCE: Dulce was born in Mexico City and was raised in Chicago before returning to Chicago to live with her grandmother when she was twenty years old. A year after living in Chicago, three women from the church reached out to her and offered to study the Bible with her. Ten days later, she was baptized. Dulce and her husband, Hector, now lead the San Pedro Sula Church of Christ. They have a son and a daughter who attend bilingual schools.

PERSONAL CSB EXPERIENCE: "Because of the brigades, the brothers and sisters in Honduras do not feel like they are this little abandoned church in the lost world. They have more faith that we belong to something big.I see that they feel loved. I see that their faith is bigger. I see that there love for each other is greater. I see that the brigades have helped the church even see the importance in helping each other. So I think that the medical brigades have helped in so many, so many ways. Spiritually, physically, emotionally, I mean we get the spiritual help, we get a lot of discipling, we get a lot of people wanted to come help the marrieds, the singles, the teens, the children."

CSB IMPACT ON FAMILY: The brigades have no only impacted Dulce's spiritual family, but also her physical one. "Four years ago, my son wasn't thinking about becoming a disciple. He always wanted to go back to Mexico. And now, because of the medical brigade, he loves HOPE worldwide. He loves to serve the poor and sick. Now, he's talking about studying the Bible and helping in the brigades, he loves helping in the brigades. He loves helping to translate. He loves to serve. The people that come from the States make him feel so important. They make him feel so special, and I am so grateful for that too, because everybody from the brigades loves my kids so much, and they feel so much love. I am eternally grateful for that."

Sebastian, 3 (San Pedro Sula, Honduras)*

While buying school supplies, members of the brigade encountered a 3-year old with a mouth of completely rotten teeth. At The HOPE worldwide Chamelecon Clinic,dentists were able to provide him free dental care, ultimately avoiding infection and adult tooth displacement.

ABOUT SEBASTIAN: "We went with Hector and Javier to the bookstore to get all of the textbooks for the Monte Verde school students for the year, and when we got there we shared with the guy who was there, he was the nicest guy, and there was a lady. They weren't related but they were working there and they were so excited about coming to church. Well, as we were standing there this little three-year old boy, Sebastian, comes over and when he smiled literarily all of his teeth were black, from the top to the bottom.

GETTING HELP: "So I said, 'Can you bring him over to our church right now? There's a dentist there who may be able to help.' And she said, 'Yes, in the afternoon.' So in the afternoon, Javier brought her up to the church and we took him in to see the dentist, and he looked at the little boy's teeth and was like, 'Holy cow, this is really, really bad. His entire mouth either has to be pulled or capped, and he's so young that if we pull out all his teeth, it could affect the placement of the teeth coming in.' But he added that if they left the teeth alone, it could lead to serious infections. The dentist started telling her how much it would cost and that she needed to take him to a pediatric dentist, and her face fell. My heart was breaking because she's a single mom, she probably makes hardly any money, and her options are nothing, really. He's going to get infections and lose all of his teeth and it's just this horrible situation.

THE CLINIC: "So I went and talked to Walter, and he told me to talk to Marlen and to get him up to Chemelacon to the dental clinic there. So we took the boy and the woman up to Chamelecon and the guy gave me hug, he would not let me go. At Chemelacon they came up with this whole entire plan to get everything fixed for this woman for free. All she has to do is get to the Chemelacon clinic, but she has a car, so it can work. I was so grateful, because as a mother, my heart was breaking for her, and the fact that they were able to do that for her for her was the most amazing thing, and was really beautiful."